MONGOLIA - More from Mongolia

TTGasia, Nov 10 - 16, 2006 / No.1501

IT is ironic the only place where the word ‘luxury’ is associated with accommodation in Mongolia is in tourist ger (tented) camps.

The country of 2.8 million people will see close to 500,000 visitors this year, and yet it still does not have an international five-star hotel. But with an increasing number of business and leisure travellers flocking to the region to enjoy (or exploit) the relatively unspoiled landscape, there are signs things are about to change.

Established in the early 1960s, the Ulaanbaatar Hotel was the first star-rated hotel in Mongolia, and is now battling to become the first local hotel to claim the Chinese government’s coveted five-star rating. It recently added cable TV, broadband Internet, limousine services and a Presidential Suite – the only one of its kind in Mongolia. Simultaneous upgrades are being completed on its sister property, the UB Hotel Golf, located 68km from town in Terelj National Park. The 220 existing hotels aside, for several years the Mongolian government has been encouraging international chains to open in Ulaanbaatar. And in January 2005 they seemed to make a breakthrough when Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts announced it would open a 190-room hotel as part of a commercial, retail and entertainment complex near Ulaanbaatar’s main Sukhbaatar Square in 2007.

But later in 2005, Shangri-La pulled out of the deal due to protracted disputes over ownership. The project has now been scaled down to an office complex, according to local media.

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